1. Field of Invention
The present patent document is directed towards systems and methods for capturing a scene, displaying a scene, or both. More particularly, the present patent document is directed towards systems and methods for capturing a scene using video or still images and generating a three-dimensional representation of the scene, which may then be displayed from different viewing angles.
2. Description of the Related Art
At the moment that a picture or a video is taken by a conventional image capture device, such as a camera, the viewpoint is fixed to a particular point in the space. Thus, conventional cameras do not allow for changing the viewpoint after the picture or the video has been taken. This fixed viewpoint is due, in part, to the type of data acquired by these cameras. Specifically, traditional cameras acquire a matrix of color components of a scene. Another contributing factor is that conventional cameras capture the scene from one, and only one, vantage point. That is, the matrix of color component represents the scene as it appears from the vantage point of the camera. Because the camera only has a representation from a single vantage point, a viewer is limited to that view.
Various approaches, such as three-dimensional (3D) video or free viewpoint video, have attempted to represent scene in a three-dimensional manner. These approaches range from approaches that have full knowledge of the scene geometry (geometry-based approaches) to image-based approaches that do not use 3D geometry. With all of these approaches, however, there are notable drawback and limitations.
Accordingly, what is needed are novel systems and methodologies that allow for generation of a three-dimensional representation of a scene and that allow a user to select an arbitrary vantage point from which to view the scene.